The invention relates to a connector backshell in a heavy duty multi-pin connector which provides strain relief for a wire bundle or cable and a means for attaching a flexible hose or conduit to shield the wires or cable from the environment.
The transportation industry requires heavy duty multi-pin connectors which are rugged enough to withstand the weather conditions to which they are subjected as well as the physical beating which they take as a result of being subjected to oil, grease, and bombardment by road debris. The individual wires or cables which are coupled to the connectors are often housed in a rugged conduit or hose which is attached to the end of the connector backshell and protects the wires from the outside environment. The transportation industry recognizes the use of certain metal or plastic banding which is fixed by a machine or a hand tool to attach the conduit to the rear of a connector backshell.
Although the wires or cable are thus protected from the outside environment, they are loose inside the conduit and flex in response to flexure of the conduit. Such movement jeopardizes the connection of the wires to the electrical contacts of the connector, and open or short circuits can result if the connections are broken.
It would thus be desirable to provide a means for securing individual wires or cables relative to a connector backshell so that they are not free to move and flex in response to the movement of the conduit which protects them from the environment.